The Amazing Sony A1/A7/A9/APS-C & Anything else welcome Mega Thread!

Faldrax said:
Remember that's for a 2Tb card - to get the same capacity from CF Express 160Gb cards (about £280 on average, from a quick Google) would be £3.5k, so at $1.4k it's actually quite 'cheap' - particularly as these are the top end cards.
That said, I won't be rushing to buy one :LOL:
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Crazy, I just don't get why prices are so high when a 2TB portable SSD 1050/1000mbs costs £170. I get that they're smaller but still :oops: :$
 
snerkler said:
Crazy, I just don't get why prices are so high when a 2TB portable SSD 1050/1000mbs costs £170. I get that they're smaller but still :oops: :$
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Because they also sell less of these than SSDs

snerkler said:
I wonder how much that impacts shooting though?
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Depends on how and what you shoot.
If you are shooting landscapes then even UHS-I SD cards will do. If you are shooting 8k 120p then perhaps you'll need something faster and bigger.
 
What's more puzzling to me why the manufacturers are using CF express when there are faster SD standards are available. UHS-III would double the speed up to 600mbps and SD express standard is capable of supporting up to 3900mbps which is higher than even CF express type B cards.

So it's really annoying that they have decided to go down a path that's not backwards compatible with the existing storage, keeps the UHS-II cards as expensive as ever and typeB is bigger needing more space so we'll almost never get dual matched slots unless you buy the massive Z9 or something like that.
 
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This was the last thing I was fixing before I left Systime. We used to spend time fixing one thing before being moved on to the next so I did various things before being shunted on to these SMD's. AFAIK Systime / I did all the CDC component level repairs in the UK. Most were 40 or 80mm with the 150mb being trolley mounted. It says in the bumf that there was a 300mb one but I never saw one. I guess the technology is basically the same in modern drives and I suppose related to solid state too. It's just amazing how far things have come in my lifetime :D

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It took two of us to lift on of those. After Systime I went to DPCE/Granada for more money and a company car :D
 
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woof woof said:
This was the last thing I was fixing before I left Systime. We used to spend time fixing one thing before being moved on to the next so I did various things before being shunted on to these SMD's. AFAIK Systime / I did all the CDC component level repairs in the UK. Most were 40 or 80mm with the 150mb being trolley mounted. It says in the bumf that there was a 300mb one but I never saw one. I guess the technology is basically the same in modern drives and I suppose related to solid state too. It's just amazing how far things have come in my lifetime :D

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It took two of us to lift on of those. After Systime I went to DPCE/Granada for more money and a company car :D
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When I first started work I was using an early PC clone - the Amstrad 1640 - cost best part of £2k (which was a lot in back then, but far less than the IBM equivalent), had 640k RAM. Mine was the top spec version, with a 3rd party 32Mb Hard disk and EGA graphics (640x350, 16 colours from a palette of 64).
The internet as such didn't exist, but the predecessor to it did, in the form of bulletin boards, which were access via my US Robotics 1200/75 modem.
As you say, things have advanced a bit from then!
 
Faldrax said:
When I first started work I was using an early PC clone - the Amstrad 1640 - cost best part of £2k (which was a lot in back then, but far less than the IBM equivalent), had 640k RAM. Mine was the top spec version, with a 3rd party 32Mb Hard disk and EGA graphics (640x350, 16 colours from a palette of 64).
The internet as such didn't exist, but the predecessor to it did, in the form of bulletin boards, which were access via my US Robotics 1200/75 modem.
As you say, things have advanced a bit from then!
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I fixed loads of those Amstrads. As I remember the biggest failure rates were HDD/controller and the monitors. One of the contracts I ran was DSS and they had loads. In those days I used a program called Rapid File which did data bases and memos and would run from a floppy disk. It did everything I needed for stock control and service level reports etc. I ran multi million £ contracts (those millions sadly didn't go to me) on an Apricot PC with 20, 38 or at the most a 45mb hard drive and a FDD.

Happy days.
 
woof woof said:
I fixed loads of those Amstrads. As I remember the biggest failure rates were HDD/controller and the monitors. One of the contracts I ran was DSS and they had loads. In those days I used a program called Rapid File which did data bases and memos and would run from a floppy disk. It did everything I needed for stock control and service level reports etc. I ran multi million £ contracts (those millions sadly didn't go to me) on an Apricot PC with 20, 38 or at the most a 45mb hard drive and a FDD.

Happy days.
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Mine had the 3rd party HD in the expansion bay (needed a bit of work with a craft knife to modify the cover so it would fit!), so didn't use the Amstrad controller - work also had a 1512, which did have the Amstrad HD, but that was only 5Mb (still plenty for running the software I was involved with writing for them).
Never had any problems with them.
 
For those tempted by the Viltrox 16mm f1.8 there's a review here with specifications.

phillipreeve.net

Review: Viltrox FE 16mm 1.8 AF - phillipreeve.net

The Viltrox 16mm 1.8 AF FE is an affordable alternative to the Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM, but what about sharpness, vignetting and
phillipreeve.net phillipreeve.net

"But in my opinion this Viltrox 16mm 1.8 AF FE is a real gamechanger. In almost every category it improves upon the Laowa 15mm 2.0, but not just that: it adds a competitive modern AF system and the most useful and advanced controls found on any E-mount lens (except for some of the high end tele lenses) highlighted by its flashy but also useful OLED display. And while doing all that it even undercuts the Laowa’s price. The 7Artisans 15mm 4.0 and NiSi 15mm 4.0 look like completely outdated dinosaurs next to this Viltrox lens.

Points of criticism are scarce. The vignetting is high at f/1.8 to f/2.0, but this was probably a tradeoff necessary by avoiding a bulbous front element and allowing for easy use of standard filters.
Flare resistance could be better, but considering the competitors’ performances and the Viltrox’ more complex 15 elements design this might actually be asking too much here. And this isn’t a small lens by any means.

To me it was only a matter of time before the Chinese lens manufacturers start to outdo the Japanese ones and this lens might be where it begins. I don’t know how the people at Viltrox did it, but they got a lot of things right here."

Well. There you go.
 
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Faldrax said:
Mine had the 3rd party HD in the expansion bay (needed a bit of work with a craft knife to modify the cover so it would fit!), so didn't use the Amstrad controller - work also had a 1512, which did have the Amstrad HD, but that was only 5Mb (still plenty for running the software I was involved with writing for them).
Never had any problems with them.
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One good thing about those Amstrads was that the set up batteries were easily accessible but I don't remember a lot of setup issue with them unlike the Apricots which lost their setting all the time. The Apricots also seemed to have endless HDD issues with the Seagate ST157R (that suffered stiction) and to a lesser extent the Miniscribe 8438. For a while I couldn't get hold of working 8438's so switched some to the older but more reliable 8425 which went straight in but was a bit slower and maybe had a different number in the set up. Some also used the ST506 Rodime RO3055 but we had a lot of those fail. I had an Apricot at home but fitted a SCSI drive and card to it and so cut out a few potential problems.

Happy days but I wouldn't go back.
 
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Since getting the 35mm GM and using this focal length more I think it's becoming my favourite focal length for a lot of things, I'm actually liking the lack of compression compared to other FL's. Obviously it will depend on the scene/subject but I can't believe I've dismissed it for so long :facepalm:


A1_06959-Edit by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
 
snerkler said:
Since getting the 35mm GM and using this focal length more I think it's becoming my favourite focal length for a lot of things, I'm actually liking the lack of compression compared to other FL's. Obviously it will depend on the scene/subject but I can't believe I've dismissed it for so long :facepalm:
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For me it's not really about a lack of compression and more about a comfortable distance and being able to include some more of the world without the more exaggerated perspective a wider lens could give.
 
woof woof said:
For me it's not really about a lack of compression and more about a comfortable distance and being able to include some more of the world without the more exaggerated perspective a wider lens could give.
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I’d actually rather stand further back in an ideal world but I’m loving the perspective. Maybe a case of the Emperor’s new clothes, but for now I’m enjoying it.
 
snerkler said:
Since getting the 35mm GM and using this focal length more I think it's becoming my favourite focal length for a lot of things, I'm actually liking the lack of compression compared to other FL's. Obviously it will depend on the scene/subject but I can't believe I've dismissed it for so long :facepalm:


A1_06959-Edit by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
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Glad you finally listened......

;):ROFLMAO:
 
snerkler said:
I’d actually rather stand further back in an ideal world but I’m loving the perspective. Maybe a case of the Emperor’s new clothes, but for now I’m enjoying it.
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I find backing up can be a problem and even if it isn't talking louder to the Mrs or whoever isn't always ideal. I think perspective wise I usually prefer 50mm but I think 35mm is more convenient for me. Sometimes 28 and 24mm are nice too but I do find 35mm about the most convenient and for that convenience I'll put up with a slightly less ideal perspective some of the time and maybe a touch of perspective distortion some of the time.
 
woof woof said:
I find backing up can be a problem and even if it isn't talking louder to the Mrs or whoever isn't always ideal. I think perspective wise I usually prefer 50mm but I think 35mm is more convenient for me. Sometimes 28 and 24mm are nice too but I do find 35mm about the most convenient and for that convenience I'll put up with a slightly less ideal perspective some of the time and maybe a touch of perspective distortion some of the time.
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I’ve always preferred 50mm, but I’m changing my mind at present.
 
Not sure how well this will show, but I've always been happy with the sharpness of the Samyang 50mm FE II but the 35mm GM is on a different level (I appreciate it's not the exact same framing and there'll be more DOF with the 35mm)


Screenshot 2023-06-03 at 08.01.46 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
 
snerkler said:
Not sure how well this will show, but I've always been happy with the sharpness of the Samyang 50mm FE II but the 35mm GM is on a different level (I appreciate it's not the exact same framing and there'll be more DOF with the 35mm)


Screenshot 2023-06-03 at 08.01.46 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
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Its hardly a surprise - I never thought that your Samyang images were as sharp as you thought they were!!
 
Mr Perceptive said:
Its hardly a surprise - I never thought that your Samyang images were as sharp as you thought they were!!
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I never professed that they were the sharpest, I've just always been happy with the sharpness and it's a lot better than a lot of primes I've used over the years. Obviously things move forward, and the GMs are exceptional, but when I compare the Samyang to Nikon primes I've used in the past, as well as a few primes I've used on Sony it's certainly up there and better than most, especially for an f1.4. I think one issue is that it doesn't nail absolute critical focus (although still perfectly acceptable) as regularly as the GM's and therefore doesn't look as sharp because of this.

I'm still happy with the Sammy, especially the rendering, it was just an observation rather than a criticism (y)
 
mstphoto said:
An Otter struggling with an eel on our stretch of the river.
First Otter I've managed to capture here this year.
Managed a few shots before the battery died :oops: :$
The a1 certainly goes through the batteries quicker than the other Sony's I have owned - but well worth it

Otter by Mike Stephen, on Flickr
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Nice. I’ve noticed the battery life on the A1 is poor compared to other Sony’s I’ve had, probably lasts 1/2 - 2/3 as long as the A9II
 
ianmarsh said:
A 180 vertorama from St Bartholomew the Great church in Smithfield, inspired by a recent trip to a Peter Li exhibition:
Barts by Ian, on Flickr
% shots taken on my Sony A7 original and a Voightlander 10mm. Thanks for looking
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Well that certainly boggles the mind ;) Nicely done.
 
Well this will certainly amuse a few on here, a 50mm f1.2 is on its way :LOL:

I’ve been watching prices for a while and they’ve been static at £2099, although on camerapricebuster’s history Clifton did have it at £1889 a while back.

Today Camera World have just lowered the price to £1799 and it’s eligible for the £200 cashback making it £1599. I figured I’d try it for a while and if I find the weight’s still an issue I shouldn’t lose much if I move it on.
 
snerkler said:
Today Camera World have just lowered the price to £1799 and it’s eligible for the £200 cashback making it £1599. I figured I’d try it for a while and if I find the weight’s still an issue I shouldn’t lose much if I move it on.
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Damn you!! Now I am thinking of ordering one.
I don't even use 50mm much:headbang:
Must resist the dark side.....
 
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